Work-Life Balance in STEM Careers

While it remains vital that America’s youth get access to quality STEM Education, the idea of ensuring a healthy work-life balance to those already in the field has recently taken on greater importance. Long a concern of fields like law and finance, work-life balance is increasingly seen as essential to other fields as well. Last week, The White House convened a panel to discuss this particular issue.

At the panel, which was hosted with the National Science Foundation (NSF), White House and NSF officials called for “a 10-year plan to provide greater work-related flexibility to women and men in research careers.” This initiative is aimed in part at increasing female participation in these fields as NSF Director Subrah Suresh argued that a number of promising young women get sidetracked while pursuing STEM careers.

In remarks at the NSF, First Lady Michelle Obama echoed these sentiments as she noted that individuals’ career prospects should not suffer due the birth of a child or the illness of a parent.